In the field of tension between economy and ecology

The consumption of textiles in the European Union has been rising continuously for years, with EU citizens now consuming an average of around 19 kilograms of textiles per year. This leads to high resource consumption, waste and environmental pollution. To counteract this, the EU is pursuing a strategy for sustainable and circular textiles. The focus is on longer service life, re-use and recycling, while incineration and landfill are only to be last resorts. A central element is the international trade in second-hand clothing. While high-quality pieces remain in Europe, the majority is exported to countries with corresponding markets, especially Africa. There, as in Kenya, second-hand clothing plays an important role. Using Humana as an example, the Swe-dish Environmental Research Institute has investigated how the value chain from collected tex-tiles in Europe to sorting centres and markets in Kenya is organised and what economic and ecological significance it has for the circular economy.